Creative leadership
Supporting organisations through uncertainty, opportunity, growth and change.
Creative Leadership · Transformation · Strategic Delivery
Leading meaningful change.
I help organisations navigate complexity, unlock opportunity and create lasting value across the built environment.
Curious by nature and collaborative by instinct, I believe the most meaningful progress happens when people, purpose and opportunity align around a shared ambition.
About
Hello, I’m Richard.
I am a Chartered Surveyor and business leader with over 15 years’ experience driving strategic growth, commercial real estate investment and advancement across the built environment. My work is guided by a simple philosophy: do good, have fun and stay creative; using construction as a force for positive change for clients, cities and communities alike.
As an Associate Director at Gleeds, I lead initiatives that align client requirements, market intelligence and service innovation to deliver sustainable growth. With a background spanning real estate consultancy, digital transformation and brand thinking, I bring a pragmatic yet imaginative lens to complex challenges, supporting clients to achieve their objectives.
Beyond my role at Gleeds, I am actively involved in shaping industry dialogue and standards. I contribute through my work with the City Architecture Forum, the Circular Do Tank and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; championing resilience, sustainability and long-term value. I am particularly passionate about mentoring emerging talent and building meaningful relationships, believing that the most transformative projects are born where trust, curiosity and collaboration meet.
Work
What I do
Strategic enough for the boardroom. Practical enough for the project room.
Project management
Leading complex programmes with discipline, transparency and outcome-focused delivery.
Advisory and strategy
Helping organisations navigate complexity, identify opportunities and shape future direction.
Asset management
Helping owners make smarter decisions that maximise asset value and performance.
Circular economy
Helping clients and partners shift from extractive habits towards reuse, adaptation and value retention.
Technology and AI
Exploring how digital tools can augment professional judgement, improve insight and strengthen delivery.
Speaking and facilitation
Leading conversations that challenge thinking, inspire action and create momentum.
Industry engagement
Creating forums, partnerships and conversations that challenge convention and spark progress.
Mentoring and talent
Championing the people who will shape the next chapter of the built environment.
Platforms for change
Roles that widen the work.
Some of the most meaningful progress happens beyond individual projects; through platforms, communities and conversations that help shape the future of the built environment.
Associate Director
Gleeds
Working with clients across the UK and internationally to deliver projects, programmes and strategic outcomes that create lasting value.
Director
Circular Do Tank
A collaborative movement accelerating practical circular economy adoption across the built environment.
Board Member
City Architecture Forum
Connecting leaders across the built environment to explore the future of cities, workplaces and the value of design.
Principal
& Golding
A platform for ideas, advisory work and creative exploration focused on leadership, innovation and industry transformation.
Insights
Ideas for a built environment in motion.
Thoughts, articles, presentations and conversations exploring circularity, leadership, cities, technology and the future of professional practice.
Circular economy
Reuse, retrofit and regen.
Moving from demolition and replacement towards value retention, adaptation and smarter project decisions.
Leadership
Growing future leaders.
How the profession develops judgement, trust and courage in a world that keeps shifting beneath our feet.
Workplace and cities
Places with human value.
Exploring how offices, neighbourhoods and civic spaces create social, cultural and economic momentum.
AI and Technology
The augmented consultant.
Understanding how AI and emerging technologies can support professional judgement and transform the way we deliver value.
Professionalism and purpose
Leading with integrity.
The evolving role of built environment professionals in society, and why purpose, ethics and responsibility matter more than ever.
Speaking and media
Conversations that move people.
Available for panels, podcasts, roundtables, client sessions and industry events; sharing practical experience and thought-provoking perspectives on leadership, circularity, innovation and the future of our industry.
Creative Leadership
Circular Economy and Material Reuse
Workplace and Commercial Offices
Retrofit and Regeneration
AI and Technology
Future Talent